Peter Tarr Furnace
In 1794, Peter Tarr built the first iron furnace west of the Alleghenies on Kings Creek near Weirton, in Hancock County. As well as making cooking utensils and iron grates, this furnace also cast the cannonballs used by Commodore Oliver H. Perry in the 1813 Battle of Lake Erie. The furnace remained in operation until 1840. In 1968 the shell of the furnace was reconstructed as a permanent landmark.

Weirton Area Museum and Cultural Center
The Museum has various displays, including old photographs,old local advertising, Weirton Steel history, and high school yearbooks. There is also a large collection of old movies, filmed in Weirton, of the people and places as they appeared in the 1930’s through the 1950’s. There are DVDs of old photographs, available for viewing in the Museum. Picture calendars, the ‘Weirton Area History Game’, and history books are available.

Open Monday through Thursday 10:00 – 3:00. Closed Fri, Sat, Sun. It’s located at 3149 Main Street in Weirton.

Hancock County Historical Museum
The Marshall House – In 1887 Oliver Sheridan Marshall built this home using materials from Hancock County. Only some of the hardware – nails and door hinges – came from down river in Wheeling. It is a fine example of Victorian life. Mr. Marshall was an attorney and served as President of the West Virginia Senate in 1899. His son, John, was Assistant Attorney General under Calvin Coolidge. The family was influential in West Virginia history. Open by appointment, or for special events. It is located at 1008 Ridge Avenue in New Cumberland. Call 304-564-4800.

The World’s Largest Teapot
Built in 1938, the Chester Teapot was constructed by William “Babe” Devon. Before its transformation, the Teapot began its life as a gigantic wooden hogshead barrel for a Hire’s Root Beer advertising campaign. Devon purchased the barrel in Pennsylvania and had it shipped to Chester where it was set up on Carolina Avenue (State Route 2), where a spout and handle were added and the barrel was covered with tin to form the teapot’s shape. The Teapot stood in front of Devon’s pottery outlet store and Devon’s hired local teenagers to run a concession and souvenir stand from inside the tourist attraction. Eventually, the land under the teapot was sold to C&P Telephone, who donated the teapot back to the Town of Chester. In the 1990s, the town and a group of Chester citizens raised money to restore the teapot, which now stands at the corner of Carolina Avenue and County Highway 30 in Chester.